Malaysian ringgit
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From Johor Bahru Directory
The ringgit (formerly, and now unofficially, known as the Malaysian dollar), is the currency of Malaysia. It is issued by Bank Negara Malaysia, and is divided into 100 sen (cents). The ringgit's currency code is MYR (Malaysian Ringgit), while its official abbreviation is RM for Ringgit Malaysia, to differentiate it from the Singapore dollar and the Brunei dollar which are also called ringgit in the Malay language.
| Fast Facts | |
|---|---|
| Malaysian ringgit Ringgit Malaysia Template:Languageicon | |
| ISO 4217 Code | MYR |
| User(s) |  Malaysia
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| Inflation | 2.1%[1] |
| Source | The World Factbook, 2007 est. |
| Subunit | |
| 1/100 | sen |
| Symbol | RM |
| Coins | 5, 10, 20, 50 sen |
| Banknotes | RM1, RM5, RM10, RM50, RM100 |
| Central bank | Bank Negara Malaysia |
| Website | www.bnm.gov.my |
| Mint | Royal Mint of Malaysia |
| Website | royalmintmalaysia.com or www.royalmint.com.my |
| The government will not re-peg the ringgit (Video credit: thestaronline) |
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2. The word "ringgit" means "jagged" in Malay and was originally used to refer to the serrated edges of the silver Spanish dollars which circulated widely in the area during the 16th and 17th century Portuguese colonial era. The Malaysian currency was previously known officially as dollars and cents in English and ringgit and sen in Malay until August 1975, when the Malay names were officially adopted as the sole official names.
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3. On June 12, 1967, the new central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (previously Bank Negara Tanah Melayu), issued the Malaysian dollar to replace the Malaya and British Borneo dollar at par. The new currency retained all denominations of its predecessor except for the $10,000 denomination, and also brought over the colour schemes of the old dollar. Over the course of the following decades, minor changes were made to the notes and coins issued, from the introduction of the M$1 coin in 1967, to the demonetisation of M$500 and M$1000 notes during the 1990s. However, the use of the dollar sign "$" (or "M$") was not replaced by "RM" (Ringgit Malaysia) until the 1990s.
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4. Just prior to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the ringgit was trading as a free float currency at around 2.50 to the U.S. dollar.[2] The crisis caused the ringgit to dip to under 3.80 by the end of 1997 and for the first half of 1998, the currency fluctuated between 3.80 and 4.40 to the dollar.[3] In September 1998, Bank Negara Malaysia pegged the ringgit at 3.80 to the U.S. dollar, while remaining floated against other currencies. On July 21, 2005, Bank Negara announced the end of the peg, immediately after China's announcement of the end of the renminbi peg to the U.S. dollar.[4] This has resulted in the value of the ringgit rising closer to its perceived market value, although Bank Negara has intervened in financial markets to maintain stability in the trading level of the ringgit.
